Naughton testing waters for lieutenant governor

Friday

Jul 19, 2013 at 6:00 AMJul 19, 2013 at 4:24 PM

By Jan Gottesman MANAGING EDITOR

After repeated denials to The Item that he has made a decision about running for statewide office, Rep. Harold Naughton Jr. (D-Clinton) was seen in a video recorded at Saturday's Democratic Convention virtually confirming a run.

In the video, posted on Twitter, Naughton said he thinks he will be announcing a run for lieutenant governor this fall.

From the floor of the convention, Naughton stated in an email that the “video was not meant to be an official announcement.”

Naughton wrote his priority remains to “finish the gun safety legislation.”

In not confirming a run for lieutenant governor, Naughton wrote he is “not trying to split hairs or play with language here,” and would notify The Item and his local constituents “if and when” he was prepared to make a formal announcement.

“We're going to spend the rest of the summer working hard, trying to produce a quality piece of legislation on gun violence, and I want the focus to be on that. I want the momentum to stay there,” Naughton told the Statehouse News Service Saturday. “I think once we get through that, get through Labor Day, I think I'll come out and start a pretty aggressive campaign to go statewide, for lieutenant governor.”

Naughton has denied the rumor that he is running for lieutenant governor on multiple occasions, most recently at the Lancaster Nashua River Festival last month, saying he had not made a decision about any statewide run, and would not until the fall.

Naughton, who is House chairman of the joint committee on public safety and homeland security, has been holding hearings across the state on gun safety. He has been appearing on radio and TV broadcasts and increasing his profile outside his legislative district.

With fellow Democrat, Stephen Kerrigan, of Lancaster, already declared a candidate for lieutenant governor, it sets up a possible rematch between the two from the 2008 election. In that race, Naughton, the incumbent, defeated challenger Kerrigan in the Democratic primary for the House seat.

Statehouse News Service asked Naughton if he was thinking of running a joint campaign with any of the candidates for governor.

“The question is would they be looking to match up with me?” Naughton answered. “I think they'd be smart if they did.”